But, according to talkSPORT’s Manchester football correspondent Dom McGuinness, the 20-year-old seems to have settled on a massive pay rise to finally seal his move.

“Apparently he did go to Melwood on Sunday morning but was told he wasn’t on the plane and that negotiations were at the critical stage,” he told the Press Pass.

“Now it does seem that £44million plus add-ons will see Raheem Sterling join Manchester City.

“As far as Liverpool are concerned, it’s a lot of money for a kid who joined them at 16 in 2010, while City need English players - they’ve already got the full 17-strong foreign quota for their Premier League squad.

“Manuel Pellegrini joked that it would cost £100million to sign Sterling, but when you break it all down it won’t be far off that - in terms of the player’s wages, he’ll leap from £35,000-a-week at Anfield to £200,000-a-week at the Etihad.”